coamings

Kent,

Thanks for the tip. I might give that a try. I do have a very large screwdriver as well.

What did you replace the bronze screws with, stainless? I haven't guaged them but they appear to be about 16 x 3"

BTW, do you have a Commander? My winch stands are fiberglass and I have had the same problem with them that I have with the gellcoat on the topsides. It has alligatored and cracked. In several places I removed sections of the gelcoat and have filled the area, and then used a light gelcoat on top. The Spartan bronze stands look like a good replacement.

may I suggest you stick with bronze'
unless you want to advertise your fastening pattern
with shiney silver points of light.

The screws that are in there are plated bronze. I think chrome plated. There are also little cups to capture the heads of the screw and they seem to be stainless. I am looking for a source for this hardware. Have you found a good one??

John
Valhalla
Commander No 287

it's just that 338 has its coamings screwed with large (14s, 16s? maybe larger)plain unwashered bronze screws that are hard to notice. Looks original. Hell, after 40 years and umpteen coats of Cetol, any fastening would be hard to see. Yours might have been replaced in the past. Might look to see if they are actually bolts now. (That's probably what I would have done, as it allows you some control in bending the coamings in place.)

Finishing washers and screws come in brass, ss and bronze, ss at www.jamestowndistributors.com
Those large fat screws might be available by the piece online. You'ld never know that if you were ordering from their paper catalog.
Their phone order people are easy to talk with, my experience.

It's understandable that ss is used because it's available and a third the price of bronze.

I ordered these last year from Jamestown.

Silicon Bronze Wood Screw Flat head 14 X 2 1/2 inch ($1.35 each)

They didn't have bronze finish washers, so I used brass ones.

Over time, both the bronze and the brass will turn dark.

I've got an Ariel, John. I considered making new winch pads, but looked like too much effort after making new coaming boards, hatch boards, traveler track, mast step, etc, etc, etc. The blocks that attach the coaming boards to the side of the cabin were the final straw. Could probably do them in my sleep now, but oh, the learning curve (and angles and angles and more angles. What was Pearson thinking?)

Kent,

There is only a 90 deg turn on a foward slant with top parallel to the deck. My coamings are built with a block cut to the angles to meet the house and the grain running up and down. Then there is a cap piece on top of the block. This assembly is bolted to the coaming and the holes plugged. Congradulations on remaking that piece.

John
Valhalla
Commander No 287

John,

Here is the devil himself, taking the form of mahogany.

The devil disappeared before I could post his picture. Got him again.

Wow Kent! I've been combing the coaming threads and came across this one. Nice work!

I spent most of this weekend disassembling my Commander... The coambings are off... Pheeww! And so are ALL the other bits that are not a part of the molded fiberglass... (Pictures soon)

I read about the recommended polysulfide bedding compounds. I am unfamiliar with these; does anyone swear by one of these products to use as a sealer for the coambings and/or also as a proper general bedding compound (if applicable)?

Thank you.

Man, that silver 'coaming block' is abso lutely GORGEOUS!
Amazing what they did with aluminum back then!;)

Life Calk and 3M 101 are pretty much the same thing, as far as I can tell.

Only problem is they both turn yellow over time.

3M 101 only comes in large tubes of white.

Life Calk is available in white, teak, mahogony, black and small tubes, if you need that

Make sure when you do bond the coamings with any type of caulk that you lightly tighted the bolts and allow the caulk to dry for at least a couple days (polysulfides dry very slowly.) Then once cured, tighten them up snug. This will prevent you from squeezing most of the caulk out initially and will make a nice gasket that will keep water out of the screw holes. I used the mahogany colored lifecalk when I refurbished my brightwork and was very satisfied with its application ease and performance this past season.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...s/00002258.jpg

Thanks - I'll give lifeCalk a try...

Great Coambings Commanderpete - This is what I am after!!
I'll be needing quite a few tubes as I've removed EVERYTHING!

Thanks for the link Tim - AND the tip. Good insight...
How did you like the Mahogany color for the coambing joints vs the white?